Florida State basketball 2014-15 season preview

Overview: The Seminoles ended the 2013-2014 campaign with a three-point overtime loss to Minnesota in the semifinals of the NIT. But with four starters returning and another year for its young talent to gel, Florida State has a chance to be a dark-horse contender in the loaded ACC.

The Seminoles will come into the season without Okaro White after the sharp-shooter graduated last spring, leaving his legacy in the career record books for most games played and 16th-ranked 1,402 career points. However, the Florida State faithful will finally get to see the much-anticipated arrival of freshman Xavier Rathan-Mayes. Mayes was ESPN's 44th-ranked recruit in the country coming out of high school, but was forced to sit out last season due to academic ineligibility. The combination of Mayes and top returning scorer Aaron Thomas gives the Seminoles an electric backcourt that can certainly cause trouble for top contenders in the ACC.

Perhaps the biggest key for the Seminoles will be on the defensive side of the ball, one of Hamilton's most-emphasized coaching points. Last year’s young Florida State squad struggled at times to understand the complex concepts of Hamilton’s defense and did not communicate effectively. Although they still rank below the class of the ACC, a bevy of returning talent and the highly-touted Mayes give the Seminoles an outside chance at ending up as a top-five team in the ACC.

One thing that needs to go right: 7-foot-3 junior Boris Bojanovsky becomes a dominant force down low and the Seminoles' high-powered backcourt helps the team cause problems for the rest of the ACC.